Public Spend Forum’s Public Procurement Weekly Roundup: A look at procurement hiring trends and more
Apr 13, 2018
GSA showcases emerging tech working groups’ recent efforts, GAO to launch electronic bid protest docketing system in May, and a look at procurement hiring trends. This is Public Spend Forum’s Weekly Roundup for April 13, 2018.
GSA Emerging Tech Office Has Several Ongoing ProjectsThe General...
Fairer Trading for Food and Farming
Apr 13, 2018
The European Commission has proposed banning certain ‘unfair’ trading practices that smaller food and farming businesses face. Their vulnerability lies in their inability to negotiate owing to less bargaining power and no alternative supplies to offer to customers. “With this proposal, the...
UK Firms Banned From Government Contracts Without Commitment to SME On-Time Payment
Apr 13, 2018
The UK Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has welcomed the move by the Cabinet Office to strengthen a Prompt Payment Code for SMEs. Since the collapse of Carillion, which left some small businesses going under and others at the mercy of late payers, the FSB has been calling for revised terms for...
Public Spend Forum’s Public Procurement Weekly Roundup: Blockchain getting renewed focus and more
Apr 6, 2018
The U.S. Army is cutting down its process for buying cyber capabilities, blockchain has remained a buzzword and is getting a renewed focus with TMF, and the CSRA acquisition is finally over. This is Public Spend Forum’s Weekly Roundup for April 6, 2018.
How the Army Achieved 30-day Acquisition...
UK Government Seeks Commitments on GKN Acquisition
Mar 29, 2018
The UK secretary of state for business has sought a series of binding commitments before he will authorise the proposed acquisition of GKN (part of the business supplies UK defence sector) by turnaround specialist Melrose, which is worth £8.1bn. The Engineer has been running a poll (still open) on...
Recommendations and New Strategies in Scottish Procurement
Mar 29, 2018
The Scottish Parliament’s cross-party group for construction has been advised by specialist contractors on ways to improve public procurement. Among the proposals are greater use of project bank accounts, placing retentions in trust and the creation of a construction regulator. There are more...
UK West Coast Rail Franchise Bidding Begins
Mar 29, 2018
The Government has invited bids for the new West Coast Partnership franchise, which will run from 2019 until 2031 and could see a single organisation operating all aspects of HS2. The winner will take on the existing franchise operated by Virgin Trains, as well as overseeing the introduction of...
British Passports Contract Likely To Go To Foreign Supplier
Mar 23, 2018
It would be remiss of us not to mention the British passports story that is all over the news this week. Basically, the contract to make the new post-Brexit passports is likely to be going to a Franco-Dutch firm, with the existing producer losing out on price. The incumbent UK supplier – and...
CCS Digital Outcomes and Specialists 3 – Bids Open July
Mar 23, 2018
UK Crown Commercial Service (CCS) – the government commercial arm – has confirmed that it plans to launch the third iteration of the Digital Outcomes and Specialists (DOS) framework this year. The framework helps the public sector to find suppliers that can research, design, build, test and...
Council Moves Away from Single-Supplier and Recommissions ICT Services and Contracts In-House
Mar 22, 2018
One of the UK’s local councils – Croydon – has announced it is changing its ICT delivery model by moving away from its current single-supplier ICT contract to a mix of specialist vendors managed by an in-house team. Is this the start of a more common approach we wonder following the Carillion...
Concerns Over Security of UK Online Public Services
Mar 22, 2018
An article in The Register this week pointed to the ‘insecurity’ of the UK’s public sector’s key government services. “UK.gov’s secure server setup is patchy at best,” it says, and “The security of UK government websites is inconsistent, and local authorities are among the worst...
Bids Invited for £1.6bn Heathrow Railway
Mar 22, 2018
London Waterloo to Heathrow Airport is a proposed new rail line, and the UK government is inviting private investors to fund it. Transport secretary Chris Grayling announced that the government is seeking third-party involvement for proposals for the new southern rail link, which would be more than...
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